Forbidden Fruit

Finished my 9th day dry today. After skipping out on the company’s “Open Bar Friday” last week, my next challenge is a business lunch i have tomorrow. Still, i survived last week’s lunch and know what kinda things i can do and say (thanks to ITSB) to get through it rather painlessly. Besides, quitting cold turkey has always been easier for me than trying to drink in moderation, so as long as i don’t drink a drop, i should be good.

Lunch went well today. i did the same thing as last time with pouring water for everyone and wine just for them. This time a couple of the guys mentioned something but i told them someone had to be awake in our post-lunch meeting and that i’d jump on that grenade for the team. They laughed and then the three of them drank two bottles…

It’s all right for lunches. Many of the people (OK, mostly women, but not exclusively) don’t drink at all during lunch and if i tell them i have to work inn the afternoon and want to be at my best, no one would push it…

“Now’s a good time to ramp up your exercise program, since you’ll have a lot of extra energy.”

BWAH HAH HAH HAH!

Yeah, Al’s “exercise program” was lifting the glass to his mouth, heh heh heh heh heh! He does need to find a new program, maybe. *snort*

In all seriousness, though, I hope that Al will be feeling more energy. Alcohol is a huge thief of energy for sure. Any benefits that can be felt will be helpful to the end goal, I am sure.

It’s now post-lunch and we’ll know how it all went, eh? I hope it went well.

Ken — About this: “Just how supportive is Yemen culture to sobriety?” Al has always told me that people here are not supportive, but honestly? I think that is just a hedge for the alcoholic in Al K Hall to keep going as he had been.

In fact, I think they are just as intelligent and perceptive, if not more so, than folks in other cultures, and have a lot of understanding for people who don’t want to drink. There was a great movie made here, too, with a famous actor about the issue of alcoholism called “One For the Road.” It got a lot of acclaim. More about it here. People in the city where we live are above average in their intelligence, education, and economic status that a lot of other places in the world. They get it, I really do think.

I have similar issues with not being able to eat wheat and other grains as well as dairy products in a country that is known for its bread and cheese. Most people I have talked to about it are very understanding, and also know that such foods have to be avoided completely — that there is no such thing as moderation in that case. This is another thing that is kind of the same.

i’m allergic to exercise: it make me pant, sweat and makes my heart race. i feel like i have more energy, though. Now i just hafta find something to do with it other than exercise.

Hmm, i don’t remember saying that people weren’t supportive here. It’s like i commented, i don’t think not drinking is a big deal. What people here and elsewhere have difficulties is truly understanding the nature of an addiction if they’re not addicts. How many times have i heard, even from the expresso, “You don’t have to completely stop, why don’t you just drink less?”

When people picked up that I was no longer drinking, I was invited to more social events. Apparently, my drinking was so obnoxious, that I was blacklisted. But now it’s like “ITSB doesn’t drink anymore, so it’s cool to invite him.”

Nobody who has seen me drunk has given me any resistance at all to the idea of quitting. The big problems I have come from people who I’ve just met and wonder why I don’t drink.

Cheers to you Al! Maybe try some weight lifting if you don’t feel like running or biking.